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ASHINGTON, D.C.—Rapid population growth, rising unemployment
and a continuing influx of undocumented immigrants are pushing health care capacity
to the brink in Phoenix, according to a new Community Report released today
by HSC.

"The combination of population growth and medical personnel shortages
is threatening access to care in Phoenix," said Paul B. Ginsburg, Ph.D.,
president of HSC, a nonpartisan policy research organization funded exclusively
by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Hospitals are increasing investment in freestanding specialty hospitals
in response to the continued growth of physician-owned specialty hospitals.

Employers are aggressively passing on higher health care costs to
workers now that the labor market is less competitive. At the same time, most
health plans are prospering as they improve pricing and purge unprofitable business.

Public health insurance coverage through the Arizona Health Care Cost
Containment System has skyrocketed, nearly doubling in the last two years to
about 905,000 people statewide, or nearly 17 percent of Arizonas population.
Two key safety net hospitals, however, remain financially troubled, threatening
access to care for the uninsured.

Orange County is one of 12
communities across the country tracked intensively by HSC researchers through
site visits and surveys. The new report is based on an April 2003 site visit
and interviews with nearly 100 health care leaders, representing health plans,
employers, hospitals, physicians and policy makers.

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The Center for Studying Health System Change is a nonpartisan policy research
organization committed to providing objective and timely insights on the nations
changing health system to help inform policy makers and contribute to better
health care policy. HSC, based in Washington, D.C., is funded exclusively by
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is affiliated with Mathematica Policy
Research, Inc.